Science

5590 readers

74 users here now

General discussions about "science" itself

Be sure to also check out these other Fediverse science communities:

https://lemmy.ml/c/science

https://beehaw.org/c/science

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

Sal@mander.xyz

fossilesque@mander.xyz

188

Believing misinformation is a “win” for some people, even when proven false (arstechnica.com)

submitted 1 month ago by Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zone to c/science@mander.xyz

35 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The strongest predictor of whether someone believed in COVID-19-related misinformation and risks related to the vaccine was whether they viewed COVID-19 prevention efforts in terms of symbolic strength and weakness. In other words, this group focused on whether an action would make them appear to fend off or “give in” to untoward influence.

[…]

Our findings highlight the limits of countering misinformation directly, because for some people, literal truth is not the point.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] thirdBreakfast@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

the easier a statement is to disprove, the more of a power move it is to say it, as it symbolizes how far you’re willing to go. - ie "faith" in religion.